Where does the time go?!

Ya know, can we talk?  Last time I posted it was January 15th... where has the time gone?!  Perhaps into my sewing... and i've got the work to prove it!  Taking the WedgeWorks class proved to be much more fruitful than I thought.  Here, i actually did have plenty of time to work on the blocks and it was a challenge but you know, in the end aren't the challenges what make us feel most rewarded?  The fighting, the thinking, the struggling, the lack of the one fabric you need most of... lol!  Yep, I used from my stash thinking 'oh i'll just stash bust' and stupid me could've slapped myself silly when I ran short about a yard of the ONE fabric that was so important to be recurring in each of the China Blue Sampler blocks... It actually made a cameo in the Star O'er Bethlehem block below too... hey!!  so did the other light blue fabric!!!  See, i have favorites and i'm not afraid to admit it!  The fabric line I fell so madly, deeply, crazily in love with was Floret line from Blanktextiles.com I mean aren't those just absolutely beautiful delicious?!  The color array and the design just make me want to eat my heart out!  I have a few of those but not nearly as many as i'd like to have!  I seem to have digressed a bit here lol!  Ok, so I ran out of the Night color (seriously isn't this like amazing... too bad it's all out of print!)  I of course found some on my saviour site: thousandsofbolts.com i love that site and i cannot stress love enough.  So here I am in my creative ocean just flowing and going with it and bam!  I run out of that fabric, so I had to place the order and wait a few days for it.  My goal for this class was to make one Persian Star and the China Blue Sampler.  In making the China Blue sampler, I noticed that in order to get the same effect the author had displayed the directions were absolutely inadequate and I had to start drawing things out, trace the template and draw the 'design' i wanted onto the template so I knew where to cut my fabrics.  That was a 10 hour day in and out of it all.  Yikes!  I am so glad I had that "ohh!!!! i have an idea" moment and thought to trace the template out onto paper and go from there because otherwise I just could not picture in my head how in the world I was going to recreate these blocks!  Trust me, if you have the book and you attempt this, you'll understand what I mean by all of that.  

Now back to the goals of the class... I figure, If I could make that star, yay for me!  I'd mat and frame it and be merry.  Well let me just telllll you!  These stars are like Lays potato chips... you can't have just one.  And of course me, in my silly 'stash busting' mode had used fabric from my stash that I had limited amounts of.  This one however, I was not so lucky with because it came from Joann fabrics and I don't have the sku #.  It seems they don't have it now and of course, this was my background fabric lol!!!  I'm on a roll here right?!  So, I decided since there are 8 stars in the quilt (oh yes, I decided to go for it and make the WHOLE darn quilt!  as if I need another quilt, and no I most certainly will not give this one away!) I would do 2 of the same and make 4 sets of 2.  Ok grand!  So far i've made the 4 blocks for the China Blue Sampler but they are still circular, I have to set them into the squares and I've made one Persian Star but I do have fabric cut and ready to start sewing to make more.  

Here are the pictures:

Persian Star

Block #10 China Blue Sampler

Block #7 China Blue Sampler

Block #5 China Blue Sampler

Block #3 China Blue Sampler

Ok, next on my list... well this really wasn't on my list but yesterday I made a pair of earrings that i am in love with!  I am calling them Tears of the Moon:

they measure 5.25" from the top of the ear hook to the bottom of the pendant.  I noticed that photographs rarely do jewlery any justice.  Oh well, in real life they sparkle like crazy!

I did work on a few other things but I cannot post because they are Secret Sister related, and who knows if she'll pop into my blog ;)

Lastly, I've been (unsuccessfully) trying to tat one basket a day, but I do have like 9 or 10 done so far!  I'll have to take a picture of them later and post :)

Happy creating everyone!

Paper Piecing, WedgeWorks and Classes!

Hi everyone!  Lots to update you on!  Today was so cold and it snowed quite a few inches, I have been frozen solid all day.

Alright, so I've been determined to really get down to brass tacks with paper piecing.  Last year I attempted a 4" block from Carol Doaks "300 Paper Pieced Quilt Blocks" book.  It wasn't anything special, not even a pattern just a crazy patch style block, very easy, 4 pieces.  At the time I was like ok, easy enough... until I volunteered to make a 12" block for a friend for a charity quilt she was putting together.  I decided on the "Star O'er Bethlehem" block from quilterscache.com.  It was a struggle, there were a lot of tears, a lot of cursing and more tears.  I had almost given up, it was tough and all of the piecing and ripping and repiecing was really getting to me.  I finally wound up with this end result: 

The blocks were also voted on, there were many, many very beautiful blocks and I actually won first place!  I was extremely honored and very humbled.  So it all paid off.  I tried to re-make the block a while later and i was not successful.  The end result was completely wonky and unable to be worked with.  

Fast forward to now, yesterday I decided to pick a block make it 8" and work on it.  It took an hour, jeez!  But I am satisfied with the end result:

Today, I worked on this one, love it!  The whole thing reminds me of my boyfriend's mom and her love for florals, coffee and shabby chic design.  I chose the fabric with her in mind.

My goal is to do at least one a month and by December make a nice little wall hanging.  I don't know if I can commit to more than one a month at this point, my time is very limited.

I started taking a class at my LQS today.  It is a 4 week class that is held every Thursday from 10am-12pm.  Those 2 hours fly by so fast!  The class is for Cheryl Phillip's book "WedgeWorks" it's an 'easy' Mariner's Compass with no paper piecing.  Here are 3 photos from the book *please note these are not my work:

Cover of the book:

"Persian Star"
"China Blue Sampler"

At first, I wanted to make the China Blue Sampler.  Then I started leaning towards the Persian Star.  When I got to class, almost everyone was doing the China Blue and it really made me want to deviate and since I wanted to do the Persian Star anyway... then I decided i'd make one Persian Star then mat and frame it and make the sampler.  I pretty much understood the directions for the sampler and since everyone wanted to make it the instructions were being talked about a lot.  Once I got home I was reading over the star instructions and while I don't feel like I can't do it... i'm like hmmm, I wish I had spent more time in class reviewing it.  At this point though, I feel like i'm beyond the technicality of the directions and i'm really faced with a challenge with choosing the fabrics.  I know contrast is everything with a Mariner's Compass and I am keeping that in mind.  I just also feel like I have a big opportunity to learn a lot from this class but with my given time constraints I really feel like I can't do the class justice.  It's a horrible feeling.  Hopefully my shopping trip to Joann tomorrow will relive me and i'll find some incredibly inspiring fabrics.  

This weekend I will be spending with my 8 year old son and we have my nephew's birthday party to go to on Saturday.  Tuesday I start teaching my Crazy Patch Heart class and I'll have my Thursday class going on, then next weekend I'll be in New York with my best friend.  Not to mention I will also have the next round of the CQ RR block to work on, it'll probably arrive tomorrow.  Oh!   And i'm hosting 2 buy ins: silk ribbon and perle 8 cotton.  

Over the past 3 days i've managed to needle tat up 7 or 8 baskets too.  I'll post a picture of them tomorrow.

I always manage to keep myself extremely busy!  I hope to post pictures of more progress on the paper piecing soon!

Cheers all!

CQ RR, Round 3!

This round i had the pleasure of working on huntres9's autumn themed block.  It proved to be a bit difficult and challenging at times because I was concerned about adding the wrong colors!  My work on the block is finished and it's off on its way to the next gal.  Here are the 2 peeks that I shared for the blocks owner.  

I traced this tree out onto tissue paper, basted it down and embroidered over it ripping the paper off after.  Added a couple SRE flowers at the base of the tree.  It has a small bird's nest with 2 blue eggs in it.

I needle tatted the "R" monogram and added a SRE rose and a little blue glass flower bead: 

Embroidered Pillowcases & an update on what I'm up to!

I made these pillowcases for a dear friend who was my "Secret Sister" last year.  I have been working on them since early December and I had really wanted to get them to her by Christmas but it just didn't work out that way.  So, I got them off in the mail to her on Tuesday.  Hey, at least they're done and they've arrived!  She was very good to me, extremely attentive - always right on top of my posts on the messageboard.  I always received a heartfelt letter in a box that was packed full of bows and ribbons with lots of care.  Hope she enjoys them!

I seem to be lacking here in blog land.  I have been extremely busy, honestly... seems I don't have too much to show for it though.  Ah!  I know, i'll have peeks to share with  you from this round of our CQ Round Robin and I also just finished the siggy wedding quilt I was hired to make!  I'll have photos of that for you soon!  

What's coming up for me?  Starting Tuesday, January 20th I'll be teaching four 2 hour classes at a LQS for a Crazy Quilt heart (i had blogged about this earlier this year.)  So that is very exciting!  I am prepping my kits for that, still have some work to be done but it's well on its way!  2 weeks after that I'll be starting my 8 week class on CQ.  I still have lots to do for that one.  I'm also taking a class for Cheryl Phillips "WedgeWorks" book.  (the first one)  That starts Thursday January 15th!  I am a little concerned that it's a time intensive class and I have so much going on I hope I can give it the attention it deserves because I also have the CQ RR going, 3 more rounds to go!  Oh!  Oh!  And i'll be visiting my very best friend of (eep!) 15 years in New York for the weekend of Jan 23-25!  Then i'll also be visiting her for my birthday on the weekend of Feb 20-22.  We're going to a comedy show and we'll hang out a little bit, i'm so looking forward to a nice weekend away, but you know i'll bring at least one needlework project ;)  probably my tatting since it's so space friendly and portable.  

Well, there's my update for the new year.  I hope this entry finds you healthy and well!  See you soon with some CQ peeks!  Stay tuned...

CQ RR, Round 2!

Ok, ok already... It's been forever since i've posted... or so it feels like it!  I've been up to a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  

We're actually on the 3rd round of the HGTV round robin and let me tell you I haven't even touched the block yet!  I've been too wrapped up in the holidays, but I thought i'd at least share the 2 peeks with you that I did on the 2nd round block.

The first treatment was made using some templates my friend Kathy shared with me.  She works up all kinds of cool crazy stuff!  

This is a silk ribbon Christmas tree with gifts under it.  I basically copied it from the Silk Ribbon Embroidery Bible.

Stay tuned for more!  I start teaching 2 different CQ classes and I am pretty nervous!

3 Breast Cancer Quilts In Honor of Carol Finally Delivered...

In January of this year I found out that my boyfriend's mother's cousin had passed away from Breast Cancer.  This is the letter I received from Heather, my sister-in-law:

"Hi girls!

 

Several weeks ago, my cousin lost her fight to breast cancer. She's my mom's cousin and one of her daughters (the one I am close with) is my age. I can't put myself in the place of my cousin to know that she just lost her mom. She and her two sisters have had a very tough life. They lost their father at an early age too. So, here they are parentless, and my cousin is not married yet and I know she'll probably be getting engaged sometime soon and it's just sad that she won't have them here with her for those special moments.

 

At any rate, I admire her very much. She is a really strong woman! Her and her sisters are going to do the 3-day race for the cure and they are looking for donations. I didn't know if anyone might be interested or if you could spread the word along. I know that some companies match donations and such. I just wanted to do whatever I could to help. So if you have a moment to check it out or pass it along, that'd be great!

 

Thanks!!!

Love,

Heather

http://08.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/PhiladelphiaEvent?pg=personal&fr_id=1186&fr_id=1186&px=1668966"

At that point I felt like I really needed to do something... of course make each daughter a quilt to comfort them.  What a loss and I couldn't imagine!  Right away I turn to my friends on the HGTV Quilting and Needlework Forums and ask if they'd be willing to donate a pink/white block.   I wasn't thinking too big and before I knew it we had almost 90 blocks and about 50 people involved with donating blocks and money for batting, backing, shipping, long arm quilters, a woman who donated 3 beautiful quilt labels and this project became a pretty big undertaking.  Over the course of 3 months the blocks were sent in... 90!!!  In flowed letters of stories from girls who were making blocks in honor of mothers, sisters, cousins, and so many loved ones.  Letters of love, hope, faith and even more love.  Once all blocks were in, I pieced the 3 very large (about queen size) quilts and sent them off to the long arm quilters.  

Around September the quilts had arrived back to me, quilted beautifully and ready for delivery!  Next step... to get in touch with the sister who lives here in New Jersey.  It took me about a month or so to get in touch with her, she's a busy one!  And we planned to meet for dinner.  Time slipped by and in November we got back in touch and then fast forward to this past week when we finally agreed to meet up.  Last night Allan and I headed to her house to deliver something was all she knew.  I hadn't told her anything of the quilts, just that all of us had felt moved to do something for them.  We arrived and talked and finally I told her the story and she was so gracious, thankful and excited.  Of course there were lots of tears and lots of heartfelt hugs... how incredible it felt to be a part of this!  I really love my friends on the board and I am so grateful they helped make this happen.  I could've pulled off something small... but never anythingof this magnitude.  

Here is the letter Christine posted tonight on the board (and how sweet of her to take time to post a thank you to everyone!)

"Christine (Baby Bear)

Posted Dec 15, 2008 10:04 PM

Hello Everyone!

I want to give all of you a hug!!! I cannot thank you enough for the beautiful quilts! It is truly the best gift I have ever received! I am so very touched, and I'm even crying as I write this. 

I told both my sisters about the quilts, and they were so touched. They will be coming from South Carolina to visit the day after Christmas, so they will be able to see them then. I didn't want to send pictures, because the pictures would not do the quilts justice. I want them to see the quilts for the first time in person 

There aren't words that can express my gratitude. The quilts are extraordinary, and just knowing how all of you came together with Talia, and put forth so much time & effort for someone who you hadn't even met before, is so remarkable! Your acts of kindness embody the very essence of my mother, Carol. And for that reason, this gift has such a special meaning to me. It is also very fitting because my mother loved to sew as well. 

Your thoughtfulness is overwhleming, and you will hold a very special place in my heart forever. This past year has been very difficult for me, but it is moments like last night that make a world of differnece. I owe that moment to all of you! I only wish there was a way to give a moment like that back. From the bottom of my heart.....THANK YOU!

Love,

Christine"

Here are some pictures:

Valentines Day Themed Crazy Quilt Heart Class

Do you remember some time back when I had posted 2 naked hearts for one of the classes I'll be teaching?  I had finally started embellishing them.  It had taken me around 2 months to really dream up what was to be for both of them.  I finsihed the pink and white one and moved onto the red and white one.  I embroidered my first peacock, who i thought was very dorky looking, then I adjusted his eye a bit and was a little more pleased, but still, much to learn in the way of making peacocks.  Next time i won't outline his body in black that's for sure!  Anyway!  Last Sunday 11-23 while shopping, I had taken them with me while looking for a few embellishments.  I lost them.  Yep you read it right.  I lost them.  I didn't realize it until I got home with dinner and my boyfriend and I were about to sit and watch a movie and eat.  As the movie was playing and i was picking at my food, I instinctivly went to reach for my red and white heart to work on it and then I couldn't find it.  Well we looked everywhere.  Tore the apartment down, looked in the bags and in my purse and emptied everything 6 or 7 times, checked the freezer and the refridge, checked all over the car and found nothing.  We retraced our steps back to Joann and the parking lot... still found nothing.  I left photos of each heart with my name, phone number and that I'd pay a cash reward for them if found.  A week later and still nothing.  That night, even though I felt completely horrible and like my world was coming down, I sat and whipped up 3 new hearts on the machine.  I managed to fully embellish one to take as my class sample for Tuesday.  The store had been asking for a class sample and if it's going to be a January class, people should at least have a good month to look at it ya know?  So I raced against the clock and finished the new pink and white one.   It's almost a replica of the old one but it's all I could manage given I only had a day to work on it.  

I brought it to the store and the owner is out for a week, but the one woman who works there is so sweet and was very flattering even saying she'd be signing up for the class!  I feel so unworthy or something lol!  Like it's so simple I feel so silly when I get compliments, even though I agree they're beautiful I feel like anyone can do it!  Oh well, overall I am thrilled I got them a class sample, but I sure do miss my old ones.  

Here are some photos...

These are the original 2 that I recently lost, the pink and white one was finished.  The red and white one was in the works...

The 3 new hearts I made.  I know the top left one is way too busy.  It'll surely be a 'what not to do' piece ;)

Class sample finished...

Close up of the fully open roses, they were fun!

I miss my old hearts but I really hope whoever found them will treasure them as much as I do...